I’ve seen certification programs come and go, and the most common reason I hear from folks who shut down a certification is this:
“The folks we were certifying weren’t doing a good enough job. They aren’t representing our work and brand well.”
If the folks you are certifying aren’t doing good work on the other end it is a huge issue. It affects your brand and reputation.
I don’t blame someone for shutting down a program that isn’t effective, but I certainly hate to see it happen as chances are it’s fixable.
How do you make sure that your certification sets folks up for success, so that they are able to do great work, represent your brand well and achieve the ROI they are looking for?
These are the 3 main reasons I will see certification programs fail.
1 – Letting the wrong folks into the program
You want to be crystal clear on your ideal student avatar and who you let into the program. The challenge with a great certification program is that there will be folks who may want to join, but aren’t actually a great fit. As I lovingly like to say “Just because they want it, doesn’t mean they get it.”
It doesn’t matter how great your training is or how motivated they are to do well, there are certain things that can’t be taught. Be picky about who you allow into your program.
2 – Your training is not based on adult learning best practices
Watching a series of online videos and coming to a Q&A call is not an effective learning experience (even though many of us – myself included! – were taught to do it this way.) It’s important that your training provides the opportunity for integration and application throughout the journey, so your folks come out the other end not just “knowing” stuff but having applied it.
3 – Your testing process isn’t deep enough
I had this conversation with a client just yesterday. For the most part, an online, multiple choice quiz is not a strong enough testing process. All that it proves is that they know enough to answer the questions (or to look it up quickly) but it doesn’t show you that they actually know how to do the work. A solid testing process demonstrates their abilities, it doesn’t just test their knowledge.
These are exactly what I work on with my clients as we design their certification programs from scratch or as we work to improve an existing program.
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